Current motor



June 26, 1923. 1,460,331

A. TARBET CURRENT MOTOR Original Filed Feb. 14 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l ZII June 26, 1923. 1,460,331

I A. TARBET CURRENT MOTOR Original Filed Feb. 14. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2mm A/ber/ 7&rb

z azz Patented June 26, 1923.

[UNITED ALBERT TARBE'I, LAKESIDE, CALIFORNIA.

CURRENT MOTOR.

Application filed February m, 1921, Serial No. 444,713. Renewed April23, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT TARBET, a

. citizen of the United States, residing at Lakeside, in the county ofSan Diego and State of California, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Current Motors, of

which the following is a specification.

It is the object of this invention to provide a current motorof the typecomprising an endless flight of impact members so arranged that 'thelower part of the endless flight will be subjected to the flow of thecurrent, While the upper partof'the endless flight moving in theopposite direction is free of the current flow.

It is the object of the invention to provide such a current motorwherein the endless flight may be readily raised and; lowered foradjusting the degree to which the current flow engages the impactmembers. It is a further object of the invention to so arrange theimpact members forming the endless flight that they will be selfsupporting between the endsprocket shafts over which the endless flightmoves, but will readily pivot with relation to one another so that theymay pass around thesprocket shafts.

The invention will be readily understood from the folio-wing descriptionof the accompanying drawings, in whichf Figure 1 is a plan view of amotor constructed. in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2- 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of one of the buckets taken on the line 3-3of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4. is a side elevation of one of the buckets.

Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

The current motor may be mounted upon a floating support or upon a fixedsupport resting upon the bed of the stream in which the motor isarranged. In the present embodiment of the invention I have shown themotor carried by a floating support which is suitably anchored forpreventing displacement thereof.

The floating support preferably includes floats l and 2 extending in thedirection of flow of the current and transversely spaced. Sprocketshafts 3 and 4c extend across the space between the floats inlongitudinally spaced relation and are suitably journaled to arms 5 ofbell crank levers suitably pivoted at 6 to the floats. The opposite arms7 of the bell crank levers are connected by links 8, and an operatinglink 9 is connected to each of the bell crank levers at one end of themotor so that movement of the operating links will raise and lower thesprocket shafts, and the endless flights carried thereby with relationto the floating support of the motor. Actuating levers 10 are connectedto links 9 and are movable withrelation to arcuate locking plates 11 inusual manner so as to lock the endless flights in vertically adjusted;positions with relation to the supporting floats.

The sprocket shafts 3 and 4 are rotated by the movement of the endlessflights received around the same, and power is taken from one of theshafts shown as shaft For this purpose a shaft 6 is journaled at thepivots for the bell crank lever supporting shaft 3, and said shaftextends transversely of the floating support between floats 1 and 2.Pulleys 13-14 upon shafts .3 and 6 are engaged by an endless chain 15for driving shaft 6, and an endless chain 16 may be received over pulley14, of shaft 6 and a pulley 17 upon the main shaft of a motor, pump orthe like represented at 18 and adapted to'be actuated'by the currentmotor. The element 18 is preferably mounted upon a suitable support 19carried by the floats 1 and 2, and it will be understood that thiselement may be any mechanism to which itis desired to apply power.

The endless flights carrying the impact members are received aroundshafts 3 and 4 and are preferably two in number. For each flight twosprocket wheels 20 are fixed in transversely spaced relation upon eachof the shafts 3 and 4, and the endless flight received around thesesprocket wheels consists of an endless chain of linked buckets havingmeans at the respective sides thereof engaging the sprocket wheels asthey pass around the same.

The buckets, shown at 22 are preferably rectangular and during theirmovement from one sprocket shaft to the other are adapted to abutagainst one another at their ends 23. The sides of the buckets which areturned outwardly are open as shown at 24, and the rear ends of thebuckets with relation tothe direction of flow of the current are alsoopen as shown at 25. A reinforcing rod 26 may connect the side walls ofthe buckets at the corners of said Walls formed by ends 24Q5.

The link connections provided between the buckets include links 27 uponeach of the side walls of the buckets and arranged at the inner ends ofthe buckets. These links each consist of transversely spaced arcuateplates 28 curved to conform to the curvature of sprocket wheels andhaving the arcuate plates connected by spaced pins 29 forming recessesarranged to cooperate with the teeth of sprocket wheels 20. The linksextend beyond the buckets at one end thereof, and at their opposite endthe plates forming the links are outwardly flared as shown at 30 so thatthe projecting ends of the links of the next adjacent bucket may bereceived be tween the outwardly flared ends of the link plates. The pins29 are so spaced along the links that one of these pins will bepositioned at each end of the links, and these latter pins shown at 29are employed for pivot-ally connecting the overlapping ends of the linksupon adjacent buckets.

By the arrangement as thus described it will be seen that when thebuckets are moving from one sprocket shaft to the other, the endabutment of the linked buckets will support the latter, and when thebuckets pass around the sprocket wheels they will readily pivot one withrelation to another at their link connections. During this movementaround the sprocket wheels the links 27 will engage the teeth of thesprockets,- and will thus transmit power to the sprocket shafts forrotating the same.

It will be understood that the elevation of the endless flights is' soadjusted that the lower portions of the flights moving from one sprocketshaft to the other will be received in the stream, the current of whichis adapted to actuate the motor, while the upper portions of the endlessflights moving in the reverse direction are above the flow of thestream.

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the,invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A current motor comprising an endless flight movable over sprocketwheels, said flight comprising buckets having arcuate links on the sidesthereof linked to one another so that the bucketsabut against oneanother during movement from one sprocket to the other, and pivot withrelation to one another as the buckets pass around said sprockets, saidlinks being toothed to,engage said sprockets as they pass around thesame.

2. A current motor comprising sprocket shafts, an endlessseries ofimpact members mounted for movement about said shafts, and means forvertically adjusting the shafts and members comprising bell crank leversconnected to the shafts, links connecting the bell crank levers witheach other, and adj ustable operating levers operatively connected tosaidlinks for rocking the bellcrank levers to vary the verticalpositions of said shaft.

3. A current motor comprising floats ar- -ranged in spaced relation toeach other,

shafts between the floats, sprocket. wheels on the shaft, an endlessflight ofbuckets having arcuate links on the sides thereof linked to oneanother so that the buckets abut against one another during movementfrom one sprocket to the other, andpivot with re lation to one anotheras the buckets-pass around said sprockets, said; links being toothed toengage said sprockets, bell crank levers connected to the shafts andpivoted on the floats, links connecting the bell crank levers with eachother and adjustable operating levers connectedto the links for rockingthe bell crank leversto vary the vertical position of said shafts. j

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT TARBET.

